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Lot Essay
Walter Becker (1950-2017), the New York born co-founder, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and co-songwriter of the American jazz-rock band Steely Dan, famously coined the acronym ‘G.A.S.’ (‘Guitar Acquisition Syndrome’) to describe his appetite for purchasing new instruments and gear wherever he went. Over his lifetime he amassed over a thousand guitars, pedals, amps and other instruments, and was known for his generous patronage of lesser-known luthiers, helping many independent builders find their feet in a competitive marketplace, including Roger Sadowsky, Doug Kauer, Chihoe Hahn, Steve Grimes, Ian Anderson and Adam Grimm. Becker’s guitar tech, ‘Nite Bob’, described how he loved to shop, man. He was every guitar-shop-owner’s dream, with Kauer describing him as the patron saint of guitar builders.
One such luthier was Chihoe Hahn of Hahn Guitars. Hahn recalled how he kept me alive for several years. He never custom-ordered from me. We would just talk, and if I had something that was different than what he had, I would let him know. And then he’d check it out and, say, pretty much inevitably, he bought it. We were just sort of exploring different things together. I think he actually bought an equal number of Teles and Strats. And then he started to get into my two new designs. He was just open to what I came up with. Nite Bob confirmed that those Hahn guitars were played a lot.
This sparkly green Hahn double cutaway strat-style guitar was first played by Becker at the Brooklyn Guitar Show in 2011, after which he acquired it from Hahn for $3,400. It became a favorite for him, played at almost every show after he acquired it. Following Becker’s untimely death in 2017 his extensive collection of instruments, amps and studio equipment was auctioned, including this guitar. It almost didn’t make the sale – Becker’s widow Delia Becker had offered Hahn the chance to keep one instrument from Walter’s collection and this, initially, had been his choice – but it stayed in and ended up achieving the highest price of all 1000 items which were sold.
One such luthier was Chihoe Hahn of Hahn Guitars. Hahn recalled how he kept me alive for several years. He never custom-ordered from me. We would just talk, and if I had something that was different than what he had, I would let him know. And then he’d check it out and, say, pretty much inevitably, he bought it. We were just sort of exploring different things together. I think he actually bought an equal number of Teles and Strats. And then he started to get into my two new designs. He was just open to what I came up with. Nite Bob confirmed that those Hahn guitars were played a lot.
This sparkly green Hahn double cutaway strat-style guitar was first played by Becker at the Brooklyn Guitar Show in 2011, after which he acquired it from Hahn for $3,400. It became a favorite for him, played at almost every show after he acquired it. Following Becker’s untimely death in 2017 his extensive collection of instruments, amps and studio equipment was auctioned, including this guitar. It almost didn’t make the sale – Becker’s widow Delia Becker had offered Hahn the chance to keep one instrument from Walter’s collection and this, initially, had been his choice – but it stayed in and ended up achieving the highest price of all 1000 items which were sold.